Was I a Silly Cyclist?

[thnurg]

Cycling home from work I noticed another cyclist in front of me cycling considerably slower than me. As I get closer I hear an emergency vehicle siren from behind so instead of overtaking I tucked in behind the cyclist and slowed down. We both tucked in as close to the gutter as possible to let the ambulance pass, and once it was passed I swung out to overtake.

A car behind took exception to this as he was wanting to overtake us, however if he had done so it would have been a close pass as there was traffic on the other side of the road. I received unintelligible shouts and rude hand gestures from his passenger as he overtook a few hundred yards later.

While I am of the opinion that his desire to overtake was unreasonable due to the oncoming traffic I should probably have looked and signalled before overtaking, although I get the feeling that any signal would have been ignored as a lot of drivers seem to think that overtaking a right signalling cyclist is fair game.

Thoughts?

 

[rowan 46]

Yes you should have looked and signalled. I have never driven but I remember the public service broadcasts of some years ago. Mirror, signal maneuver I have always used the same principle for cycling. He may well have ignored the signal but you will never really know as you didn't do it.

 

[Moodyman]

Always helps to look before moving off, but that car could have shown more courtesy by waiting - after all you were ahead of him when you pulled in

 

[Moss]

Cycling home from work I noticed another cyclist in front of me cycling considerably slower than me. As I get closer I hear an emergency vehicle siren from behind so instead of overtaking I tucked in behind the cyclist and slowed down. We both tucked in as close to the gutter as possible to let the ambulance pass, and once it was passed I swung out to overtake.

A car behind took exception to this as he was wanting to overtake us, however if he had done so it would have been a close pass as there was traffic on the other side of the road. I received unintelligible shouts and rude hand gestures from his passenger as he overtook a few hundred yards later.

While I am of the opinion that his desire to overtake was unreasonable due to the oncoming traffic I should probably have looked and signalled before overtaking, although I get the feeling that any signal would have been ignored as a lot of drivers seem to think that overtaking a right signalling cyclist is fair game.

Thoughts?

Your on a bicycle! For some drivers your fair game; and for otheres there's some respect for your chosen mode of transport. There are some numpty drivers out there though> Your lucky he didn't overtake then decide to turn left immediately in front of you, I hate it when they do that!

 

[HLaB]

Without being there looking is the main thing and if necessary signal but some drivers just don't like anything. It wasn't a grey estate was it?

 

[brokenflipflop]

I have a job where I visit peoples homes. Before I did this job I thought there were pockets of insanity and everyone else was normal. I've subsequently changed my opinion - there are pockets of sanity and everyone else is mental/thick/selfish/ignorant/thoughtless.

This being the case, how many of these insane, thoughtless peanuts have cars or have access to cars ? There are people out there who don't know how to say "hello" when they open their door to you but they drive cars on public roads.

I've come across two sets of boneheads in their Audi A3's stop dead in the middle of the road to talk to each other through their open windows holding up me and the rest of the traffic !

I've stopped in the middle of the road (in my car) to allow someone to reverse out of their drive safely only to be overtaken at 30MPH by a daft cow who was totally oblivious to what was going on.

I've let peanuts in from a side road, only for them to drive on the bumper of the car in front, determined that they wont afford someone the same courtesy I've shown them (and no thank you wave toboot.)

Fact is drivers mirror our society in general.

These things considered, don't expect the people behind the wheel of a car to be reasonable people - most of them are dicks !

AAAArrgh that feels better - sorry about that. Rant over

 

[Bicycle]

...once it was passed I swung out to overtake.

A car behind took exception to this as he was wanting to overtake us, however if he had done so it would have been a close pass as there was traffic on the other side of the road. I received unintelligible shouts and rude hand gestures from his passenger as he overtook a few hundred yards later.

... I should probably have looked and signalled before overtaking...


I get the feeling that any signal would have been ignored as a lot of drivers seem to think that overtaking a right signalling cyclist is fair game.

Thoughts?

1. It is deeply cool and very refreshing that someone owns up and asks for opinions. Top marks for that. We all do unwise things sometimes and few of us admit to it.

2. You should DEFINITELY have looked behind before moving out to pass. I know you know that, but there are no exceptions.

3. When driving and if it's appropriate, I pass drivers and cyclists who are signalling right. It's not always naughty to do so.

 

[pshore]

It could be that you prevented them from ambulance chasing.

Traffic always goes a bit haywire when an ambulance passes and then everybody calms gets back to normal. But, sometimes, when cars have clearly pulled over for an ambulance someone always tries to chase the ambulance or gain an advantage.

 

[Bicycle]

When I was a motorcycle courier in the 80s, that was one way through the traffic.

Any vehicle from the emergency services (but more often small, agile ones) would pick up a gagle of couriers in the same way that the low air pressure behind an express train appears to suck the mist and fog into its wake.

Although couriers could always padle their way round tight-packed traffic, there was nothing like the ease of pootling along down the deep channel in the wake of an icebreaker.

The trick was to do it in a casual way, so it just looked like somewhere you happened to be. Of course, it never really looked like that at all.

 

[CopperCyclist]

Of course you should have looked, but if you had you'd have simply seen an impatient motorist in 'must overtake' mode. Sounds like he was the bigger 'silly vehiclist'! I suspect that if you had done everything correctly, looked, signalled you'd still have got the same response - though of course we'll never know for sure!

 

[addictfreak]

It's really about self preservation, we are venerable enough to start with. A little glance over the shoulder is a life saver.

 

[thnurg]

It's really about self preservation, we are venerable enough to start with. A little glance over the shoulder is a life saver.

If I were venerable I'd have received more respect from the driver.

 

[GilesM]

Addictfreak is right, the quick look is the important thing, and if it looks like it would be a close one, just let the car go before you make you move, to assume he wouldn't overtake you as there was oncoming traffic and therefore not really enough room is a bit of a dangerous assumption, is anyone shocked by somebody driving a car who is a bit impatient. It might not be right that you have to, but avoiding the danger created by others is the sensible thing to do, and can hurt a lot less.

 

[thnurg]

Addictfreak is right, the quick look is the important thing, and if it looks like it would be a close one, just let the car go before you make you move, to assume he wouldn't overtake you as there was oncoming traffic and therefore not really enough room is a bit of a dangerous assumption, is anyone shocked by somebody driving a car who is a bit impatient. It might not be right that you have to, but avoiding the danger created by others is the sensible thing to do, and can hurt a lot less.

I think you're spot on. Better to allow a nutter to pass than to have the moral high ground while groaning about a broken collar bone lying in the gutter.

Lesson learned.